Transmitting mechanism.



"-PATENTED MAY 7.51907. f

N0.852,883. E. s. KEYES.

TRANSMIT'IING-MEGHNISM.

APPLICATION FILED DEO. e, 1905.

` zsHEETs-SHEET 1.

PATENTED MAY 7, 1907.

F. S. KEYES. TRANSMITTING MECHANISM.,

APPLICATION FILED DBO. a, 1905-.

:Z SHEETS-SHEET 2.

UNITED STATES FREDERICK S. KEYES, OF

WARREN, MASSACHUSETTS.

TRANSWHTTING NIECHANISNI.

Specification of Letters Patent.

Patented May '7, 1907.

Application filed December 6, 1905. Serial No. 290,626.

T all whom t Worry con/cern.-

l mitting Mechanisms, of which the following atively feeble impulses,

impulses,

is a specification. u

My invention relates to transmitting mechanism, and especially to those in which one v or more series of yieldable members are interposed between a power-receiving element and an element to which variable power is a plied to modify and control its effect. Tlhe iiuctuations in such applications of power, on account of the inertia ofthe parts and from various causes inherent in the apparatusin connection with which the transmitting mechanism is employed, are liable to include a considerable number of comparas well as those of greater magnitude, and others that are weak intheir initial stages but which rapidly increase to a maximum. I have found that when the members of a transmitting mechanism offer uniform resistance throughout the series, they must be either too rigid to properly yield under the action of the lesser or too fieXible to modify the greater in the manner desired. To obviate these difficulties and to provide means for limiting` the range of action of the yieldable members, to prevent their injury, are the principal objects of my invention.

In the accompanying drawings, Figure 1 is a top lan view of one embodiment of the invention, parts being in section; Fig. 2 is a perspective view of one of the transmitting members, and Figs. 3 and 4 are the vertical sections on the lines 3-3 and-4--4, respectively, of Fig. 1.

Similar characters indicate like parts throughout the several figures of the drawings.

Upon a shaft 10 journaled in bearings 11 is rotatably mounted a transmitting member 12. This transmitting member is shown as in the form of a wheel or narrow drum to which power may be applied through teeth 13, encircling its periphery and with which meshes a pinion 14 fast upon a counter-shaft 15. The counter-shaft is journaled in bearings 16 and this is illustrated as driven by a connecting rod 17, a portion only of this element being shown, which is articulated to a crank 18. on the counter-shaft. Power is impressed upon the connecting rod from any source the action of which it is desired to cushion and modify. At the inner side of the drum is a hub 19 from which a flange 20 extends toward an oppositel eripheral iiange 21, there being a considerab e opening between these two flanges.

Fixed within the drum upon the inner face of its head is a generally radial abutment 22, and about said drum, spaced from one another at convenient intervals, are radiallyarranged movable abutments 23, of which there are any suitable number, 12 being shown here. The last-named abutments may be guided in their movement within the drum by sets of rolls 24, mounted upon their outer extremities and contacting with the head and the fiange 21, and inner pairs or sets 24a and 24h, the former being located similarly to the rolls 24, in co-o eration with the flange 20, while those num ered 24b are in contact with the inner surface of `a chamber formed in the hub.

The abutments serve as connecting members between sections of yieldable members, preferably provided by series of circularlyarranged and cencentric spiral springs 25, which. may be retained upon the abutments against lateral displacement by bosses 26 which their ends surround. Each radial sements preferably all offer the same resistance to movement, but the circumferential series are graduated, there being shown in connection with the wheel 12 two sets a and b, the

point of application of power. This series presents the least resistance, an effect which may be secured by making the Springs of lighter material and, incidentally, of less diameter.

With the last of the movable abutments, or that adjacent to the fixed abutment, contacts a series of studs or projections 27, here shown as three in number corresponding to the radial series of springs. They extend from one side of .a wheel or intermediate transmitting member 28, which at the opposite side may be in all respects similar to that just described. As illustrated, there are two of these wheels, that designated as 28 and a second, 29, rotatable upon the shaft 10 similarly to the wheel 12. Carried by each of the members 28 and 29 are groups of springs arranged similarly to the springs 25, those of the wheel 28 are divided into sets c and d and ries of the springs between any two abut-.

first being nearer the abutment 22 or to theA IDO IIO

those of the wheel 29 into sets 'e and f. The relation of the entire series, including all the groups, is such that there is a gradual progressive increase from ct to f in the resistance offered. To secure the requisite strength of spring in the set f, they are shown as of such weight of material and diameter that there are but two concentric series occupying the space of three series of the other sets. Obviously, however, this method of obtaining the correct relation is no t essential and any convenient number may be employed, this being also true of the numbers of groups and sets.

With the last abutment of the series f contacts projections 30 from a wheel 3l, keyed upon the shaft 10 and constituting therewith an element receiving power through the yieldable system. It may be considered also as a member 'of the transmitting mechanism. When power is transmitted through such a system, the excessive impulses or resistances of the applying or receiving elements are absorbed and the effect averaged or equalized. For minor iiuctuations, only the first set, a, of springs may be affected, but as these increase or as other greater impulses are impressed upon the power-applying element, the other sets successively yield, until under a maximum stress the last set is compressed. Thus it will be seen that for any predetermined range the least fluctuation will be,

taken up with the same certainty as the greatest.

Mechanism may also be provided for controlling the direction of expansion of the springs, to prevent their reaction upon the power applying element. This, as illustrated, consists oi one or more pawls BlfL mounted upon some relatively-fixed member 31b and cooperating with ratchet-teeth 31c conveniently formed upon the periphery of the wheel 12. In this manner, whatever force is impressed upon the springs will'be stored until it becomes available to operate the power-receiving element.

If the springs of the system were placed under such compression that their convolutions contact with one another, any increase would tend to crush them or to cause buckling, either of which might prove destructive. This is particularly liable to occur in the herein-described mechanism in which the maxivmum stresses are transmitted through the least resistive springs. To prevent injury to the springs I preferably furnish means for limiting the movement of each abutment toward that beyond it to an amount less vthan the yieldability of the springs. This means, as here illustrated, consists of stop members 32 projecting from the abutments 22 and 23 toward the companion abutments in the directiony which they move, and being recessed at their opposite sides to give ample room for the springs, without material sacriice of strength. The length of these stop members is such that before the springs are 'hilly compressed they come into contact with the next abutment to prevent further relative movement,v although allowing said abutments to travel together to transmit movement to succeeding members. Though these stop projections may be formed integrally upon the abutments, I prefer to secure vthem in place by means of screws 33 extending through enlarged base portions 33a, or, in the case of the outer projections, by screws 33h, countersunk in the outer faces of the projections. lThis not only provides means for conveniently replacing them in case of breakage, but also allows projections of different lengths to -be applied, to proportion their lengths for springs of different resistances. Thus the same mechanism may be readily adapted to the transmission of forces of different magnitudes and characters. The location of the projections with regard to the springs and the extent of their contact ends is such that the checking effect between adjacent abutments is complete, so there will be neither longitudinal or lateral tilting,which might occur if a single projection were used or if its contact face were much narrower than the co-operating abutment. A convenient manner ofA arrangement is to place a stop projection upon each side of each of the springs. springs is unduly weak orbecomes broken, the projections associated with it takes the strain and prevents distortion or stresses at an excessive angle upon the other springs. To guard against the contact of the rolls 24", they may be made of less diameter than the 9,5 When so disposed, vif one of the ICO ythickness of the abutments, so that the latter will contact with one another, limiting the movement at'this point in the same manner as the projections.

Having thus described my invention, I claim:

1. The combination with a power-applying and a power-receiving element, of an interposed series of yieldable members arranged in independently movable groups, each of said groups oiering a resistance difierent from the companion groups.

2. The combination with a power-applying and a power-receiving element, of an interposed series of yieldable members varranged in independently movable groups, the members of each group oiering different resistances.

3. The combination with a power-applying and a power-receiving element, of an interposed series of yieldable members arranged in independently movable groups,

each of said groups oiering a resistance different from the companion groups and the members in each group oife'ring dilferent re-A sistances.

4. Mechanism comprising a plurality of transmitting members, a plurality of movable connecting members associated with each transmitting member, and yieldable members situated between the connecting members, said yieldable members in the different transmitting members offering different resistances. l

5. Mechanism comprising a plurality of transmitting members, a plurality of movable connecting members associated with each transmitting member, and yieldable members situated between the connecting members, said yieldable members in the ditferent transmitting members oiiering resistances gradually increasing from transmitting member to transmitting member.

6. Mechanism comprising a plurality of transmitting members, a plurality of movable connecting members associated with each transmitting member, and yieldable members situated between the connecting members, said yieldable members in the dif- 'ferent transmitting members oiiering resistances gradually increasing from transmitting member to transmitting member and also varying in each ofthe members.

7. Mechanism comprising co -operating transmitting members, intermediate movable connecting members, yieldable members between the connecting members, and means carried by the connecting membersfor limiting their movement to less than the yieldability of the intermediate members.

8. Transmitting mechanism comprising a vrotatable member having abutments, one of which is movable, a spring situated between l the abutments, and a stop projecting from one ofthe abutments toward another.

9. Transmitting mechanism comprising a rotatable member having abutments, one of which is movable, a plurality of springs situated between the abutments, and a plurality of projections carried by one of the abutments and extending between the springs toward the adjacent abutment.

10. Mechanism comprising co operating transmitting members, intermediate movable abutments, yieldable members between the abutments, and separable stop-projec tions carried by the abutments.

- ll. Mechanism comprising co operating transmitting members, intermediate movable connecting members, yieldable members between the connecting members, and

bers at each side of the yieldable members.

12. Transmitting mechanism comprising a rotatable member having abutments, one of which is movable, a spring situated between the abutments, and a stop projecting from one of the abutments toward another and being adapted to contact therewith over a considerable portion of its width.

Signed at Warren, in the county of Worcester, and State of Massachusetts, this 29th day of November, 1905.

FREDERICK S. KEYES.

Witnesses:

JOSEPH ST. GEORGE, JOSHUA F. BosTocK.

stops projecting from the connecting mem- 

